At a time when Barack Obama is trying to make his health care overhaul a success, millions of people in countries across the world are still striving to get basic health care facilities. The inequality in access to hygiene and health services doesnt seem to be plummeting in many developing countries. The present situation calls for a return to the comprehensive approach of primary health care so that the poor dont have to struggle for access to good care.

There is a lot of variation in the government annual expenditure on health care all over the world. Health care in the United States may be the second most expensive in the world but the system needs an overhaul to reach the top slot. In some countries expenditure on health care services per person is as less as 20 dollars whereas it has reached to 6000 dollars in other countries. Surprisingly, the difference of life expectancy between poor and rich countries has now surpassed 40 years. Not even countries, access to quality health care facilities varies within states of the same country. Nairobi is a high income city of Kenya where the mortality rate of below 15 per thousand is under 5 but in the neighboring slums the mortality rate is 254 deaths per thousand.

Taking the sharp discrepancies into consideration, it seems that the condition of health care facilities all over the world is not secure and it will continue to fluctuate. Developed and underdeveloped countries need to get hold of the inequalities prevalent in the provision of basic health and hygiene facilities. Reports have proved that most of the low income countries have more than 6 billion people paying for health care from their pockets. If strict measures are not taken, this personal expense might result in approximately billions of people going below the poverty line in the current economic scenario.

Whether it is a private health care system or a nationalized health care system, provision of health care facilities depend a lot on the involvement of the government. Its for the authorities to control the situation and make it possible for everyone to access quality health care services.